Nine adults, child face charges in Cortez T-ball fight

Eight charged with assault, district attorney says

Adults fight during a T-ball game at Parque de Vida in Cortez on June 19.

Myra Yellowhorse/Facebook

Adults fight during a T-ball game at Parque de Vida in Cortez on June 19.

Myra Yellowhorse/Facebook

Three months after a fight at a children’s T-ball game in Cortez, five new alleged combatants face assault and harassment charges.

The fifth new defendant, a juvenile, also faces charges of third-degree assault and harassment, District Attorney Will Furse said Thursday.

Ten people have been charged since the June 19 melee, Furse said.

George Brito, Quincey Brito, Tisha Crooks and Ricky Espinoza, who were allegedly involved in the June 19 disturbance at McAndrew Field, appeared in Montezuma County Combined Courts on Wednesday to face charges.

Crooks and the Britos were charged with third-degree assault and harassment and received protection orders prohibiting them from contact with Keesha MacAulay, the woman originally cited for disturbing the peace in the T-ball brawl and the apparent target of most of the attacks.

Espinoza was charged with third-degree assault and received a protection order prohibiting him from contact with a man whom he allegedly punched during the fight.

According to Cortez police who responded to the ballfield, Espinoza said that he punched a man during the melee.

Police initially issued MacAulay a summons for disturbing the peace after witnesses reportedly said she had started a fight with several other adults.

A video recorded by a spectator, which received more than 33,000 views on Facebook in the weeks after the incident, showed several people dragging MacAulay and kicking her when she was on the ground.

George and Quincey Brito weren’t mentioned in the original police report, but Montezuma County Court Judge JenniLynn Lawrence said all the defendants charged with assault on Wednesday were “involved in the same circumstance.”

The four adults chose to apply for a public defender to represent them, and Lawrence scheduled them to meet with counsel at the courthouse at 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 27.

A juvenile appeared in court at 9:30 a.m. Thursday for a pretrial conference in connection with the incident. Montezuma County Magistrate Sarah Law gave the juvenile a protection order that prohibited harassing contact with MacAulay.

This brings the total number of people charged in connection with the T-ball fight to 10. Charges of third-degree assault and harassment also have been filed against Christina Schulte, Kathy Gomez and Sandra Smith. Kristella Yapelli has been charged with verbal harassment, Furse said.

MacAulay faces a charge of disturbing the peace in Cortez Municipal Court. Her previous hearings were delayed after City Attorney Mike Green said he had trouble contacting officers who led the investigation.

Her next court appearance has been scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 2.

Nine adults, child face charges in Cortez T-ball fight

Adults fight during a T-ball game at Parque de Vida in Cortez on June 19.

Myra Yellowhorse/Facebook

Adults fight during a T-ball game at Parque de Vida in Cortez on June 19.